Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Tuesday, 07 November 2023

Government

• Strike laws to be passed to protect vital public services over ChristmasMinimum service level regulations for rail workers, ambulance staff and border security staff will be laid in parliament to mitigate disruption and ensure vital public services continue if strikes are called, the government has announced

BBC News

• Go North East: Bus strike continues after talks break downFresh talks to try and end an indefinite bus strike at Go North East have broken down without a deal.
• Stoke-on-Trent to get public transport safety officersTransport safety officers (TSOs) will be patrolling buses and trains in a bid to reduce the risk of anti-social behaviour.
• Plan for 40% of train services to run during strikesAbout 40% of rail services will run during strikes under planned minimum service rules for train operators in Great Britain, the government has said.
• Train drivers wanted for 'Harry Potter rail route'West Highland Line services cross Rannoch Moor and the Harry Potter films' Glenfinnan Viaduct.
• Ryanair sees profits boom after hiking air faresThe airline says it carried a record number of passengers over summer, despite price increases.

ITV News

• Minimum service level strike laws extended to stop 'unions derailing Christmas,' Sunak saysLaws designed to provide a minimum level of cover during strikes have been extended to ambulance staff, rail workers and Border Force employees ahead of Christmas.

Financial Times

• Local leaders seek to reverse 40 years of UK bus privatisationFranchise network run by Transport for London, a local government body, hailed as a way forward

The Guardian

• The Guardian view on England’s train stations: make them part of a rail renaissanceThe government’s U-turn on closing more than 1,000 ticket offices is a relief. It is time to reject a short-sighted approach of managed decline
• Train operators to be forced to run 40% of normal timetable on strike daysMinimum service level regulations are being extended to rail workers in England, Wales and Scotland. Train operators will be forced to guarantee that 40% of a normal timetable will run on strike days under a law to be introduced to parliament on Tuesday. The minimum service level regulations would make sure that certain priority routes can remain open, the government said, although it was unclear which journeys would be covered.

Times Online

• King’s Speech: Driverless buses and delivery vehicles to get green light. [subscription]Legislation will pave the way for shopping to be delivered without a human by the end of the decade

The Mirror

• Anti-strike law requiring 40% of train services to run during walkouts 'won't work'Minimum service levels, restricting rights to strike, will be introduced for ambulance, rail and Border Force staff, but unions have claimed they are 'unworkable'

Sky News

• New law to ensure 40% of trains run during strikes, government announcesMinisters also promise minimum service levels for border security staff and ambulance workers in what they say will prevent disruption over Christmas.

Birmingham Post

• East Midlands Airport to hold speed dating business event to match local firms with clientsBusinesses can register now for the inaugural Meet the Buyers event on January 25, 2024

Bolton News

• Bolton: Diamond Buses office opened on Silverwell StreetA historic building that had been dilapidated for many years has now been revived as a new bus company head office.

Bristol Live

• Bristol Underground could 'finally' be ditched as Tories dismiss plan as 'delusional'But Bristol's mayor says underground sections are 'essential for a truly transformational transport system [that] Bristolians need and deserve'

London Evening Standard

• Dodgy pedicab drivers to be driven off London's streets by new law in King's Speech New licensing system will ensure rogue pedicab drivers are 'packed off to history'
• Minimum service level strike laws extended to ambulance, rail and border workersLaws designed to provide a minimum level of cover during strikes have been extended to ambulance staff, rail workers and Border Force employees.

The York Press

• York campaigners push for 20mph speed limit across the cityCAMPAIGNERS in York are set to stage an event this week looking at turning York’s roads into 20mph speed limits.

Wales Online

• Flights at Bristol Airport suspended by technical faultPassengers are being advised to contact their airline

Bucks Free Press

• Chiltern Railways ban takes electric scooters off trainsE-scooter rules on board trains in Buckinghamshire have changed.

Other Regional Press

• Stansted Airport Watch to wind down after almost six decades of aviation activismStansted Airport Watch (SAW) is set to wind down, ending almost six decades of aviation activism. At a special annual meeting this month, the executive committee will ask members to approve plans to convert the organisation to a trust, safeguarding funds for any future campaign.
• Teesside Airport hit by power cut with 'temporary disruption to air traffic control services'A spokesperson for the airport confirmed there was disruption to traffic control services after losing power
• Long-awaited works on step-free access at train station to commenceDisabled passengers are set to benefit from new step-free railway station access following a multi-million-pound overhaul.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• CILT publishes 10-point plan after cancellation of HS2London, UK – 6 November, 2023 - The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK is today publishing a 10-point plan as a result of the cancellation of HS2 one month ago. CILT has assessed the implications of the HS2 decision, and remains deeply disappointed at the cancellation of HS2 north of Birmingham. “We believe this will do considerable harm to the economies of the North and Scotland. Instead of investing in the UK’s major infrastructure scheme, a third of the money is to be spent on populist short-term tactical measures which will do nothing to address th...

New Civil Engineer

• DfT gives go ahead to £87M transformation of A164 junction in YorkshireThe Department for Transport (DfT) has given the green light to the £87M proposal to transform the A164 Jock’s Lodge junction in Yorkshire.

RMT

• RMT calls for ticket office cuts in Scotland to be ruled outRAIL UNION RMT is demanding that the Scottish government rule out ticket office cuts by ScotRail following the decision to scrap all closure plans in England.

Other News Sources

• MP seeks public input following £3.4 million bus plan approvalAN MP has asked residents which bus route is most important to them.
• Grow the Welsh Bus Network by Over a Third says Leading Transport BodyThe Welsh bus network could be grown by well over a third, with nearly 40m additional journeys over the next four years, according to a new report published recently.
• Nearly half of Europe’s airport have now recovered 2019 traffic volumesACI EUROPE has published its latest air traffic report, showing levels moving ever closer to pre-pandemic 2019.
• Rail lines between Blackburn and Clitheroe blockedAll lines between Blackburn and Clitheroe are blocked and Network Rail is working to inspect the railway.

News from Europe

• Alstom invests EUR 50 mln to develop maintenance depot in BucharestMultinational rolling stock producer Alstom officially announced an investment of over EUR 50 million to develop a depot in Bucharest for the maintenance of the new Coradia Stream electric passenger trains.
• New multimodal infrastructure in CEE region to help EU meet its transport goalsOne of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe is currently under development in Poland.